Recovered a nicely seasoned Lodge grill pan from the basement to do some steaks in the BS. The pan never worked for it's intended use so now it's re-purposed for high-temp BS cooking. I did have to cut off the handle to fit in the BS and still have more fingers than Chicago Bob after using a hacksaw. I just returned some steaks to a local meat market after I found out that the two 12-oz. steaks I bought, including the weight of the butcher's wrap was 22.75 oz. I hate the trend local butchers have of selling steaks marked as 12 oz. (or whatever wt.) in the display case but it turns out they've been estimated by the meat cutter, not actually weighed. I'm guessing it's happening all over the country where regulations don't prohibit it. So it's off to Costco tomorrow for some of their excellent steaks.I chatted a while with the county auditor's office when I filed a complaint about the steaks and he happened to mention that Costco and Sam's Club have extremely clean areas where the meats are cut and prepared. He said it looked as if you actually could eat off the floor. So that's comforting to know. Here's the cast iron pan after circumcision.

Did a 22 1/2 oz Ribeye (1 1/2-in. thick) from Costco last night in the BS. In retrospect, I should've started the oven at full blast but did not. I had to go full bore to get up to between 850 and 900 ° bottom stone and 1050 top stone. The ribeye was Choice, not Prime, I wasn't spending that kind of money on my first experiment. Frankly, this turned out so great that Choice will be my usual pick from now on. I'm gonna have to try a Prime steak in the BS sometime but for now this ribeye was fantastic.I used my round Deni meat tenderizer (49 blade) on the steak before coating it with grapeseed oil and Costco's Kirkland Steak Seasoning (wonderful stuff). I covered the meat with plastic wrap and let it sit out on the counter for just over an hour. I had a little trouble getting the Lodge grill pan centered on the stone but that turned out not to be very important. It turns out that while reaching for the cast iron pan with my two Channellocks, I really should dial down the burner. I didn't burn myself but I did singe some hair off the back of my fingers. D'oh! I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you that so much heat was coming out of the front of that 1000 ° oven. Since the grill pan wasn't centered on the stone, the pan had rotated too far into the oven to grab with the pliers w/o requiring medical attention so I had to wait until the stone turned 180 ° before grabbing, but I missed it. Luckily my wife was near the outlet and unplugged it for me so I could grab the damn thing before it passed med. rare into medium territory. I need to do the switch mod for this oven. I can't remember the last time I ate a steak without a nice sauce or A-1 Sauce (my wife says it tastes like insecticide) but this was so delicious that I barely glanced at the A-1 on the table. This was without a doubt the best steak I've ever done at home and better than most restaurants I've eaten at. Although I don't often order steak at restaurants, I prefer to get dishes that I can't make at home or are just too much trouble to make. The 3 other Ribeyes in the pkg. were in the 18 oz. range, still plenty big enough to split, so I vacuumed sealed them and popped them in the freezer for other meals.

I've gotta be careful that this doesn't turn me into one of those guys who never leave the house! Not much need to order steak out anymore. Fortunately there are plenty of other things to get. Oh, yeah, winter. I'll order steak then.

I've gotta be careful that this doesn't turn me into one of those guys who never leave the house! Not much need to order steak out anymore. Fortunately there are plenty of other things to get. Oh, yeah, winter. I'll order steak then.

We are the same way over here Jay...only eat out if it's something we can't fix at home. My gf wanted to try Red Robin gourmet(?) burgers last weekend for her B-day meal(she's a cheap date,saaweet )anyway, I believe that was the first time we've ate out in a year(since that hotdog joint last B-day )

We are the same way over here Jay...only eat out if it's something we can't fix at home. My gf wanted to try Red Robin gourmet(?) burgers last weekend for her B-day meal(she's a cheap date,saaweet )anyway, I believe that was the first time we've ate out in a year(since that hotdog joint last B-day )

Hotdog joint? I see what your doin' you dog you. You're setting the bar so high no other guy can ever measure up, eh?